Zhang Zhidong, a famous minister of the late Qing Dynasty, gave Cixi a "magic wand", why did Cixi sleep and hold it? In this article, I will talk to you about this topic.
As one of the four famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty, Zhang Zhidong was only two years younger than Cixi, although his status and popularity among the four famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty were ranked last, but he was the most favored Han minister of Cixi, and even many people jokingly called Cixi the woman behind Zhang Zhidong.
Because of this, Zhang Zhidong's official fortunes in his life were smooth, and he was the only Han minister in the Qing Dynasty who only moved and did not degrade, and he was also Cixi's dying entrusted and important minister, which showed Cixi's love for him.
However, Zhang Zhidong also had a crisis, this was when he was the governor of Huguang, because some reforms offended the local rich merchants and powerful, some of whom had a very strong background, they bribed li Lianying, the grand eunuch at the time, asking him to slander Zhang Zhidong in front of Cixi, and they also contacted some Manchu noble ministers to impeach Zhang Zhidong in the court.
In this regard, Cixi also attached great importance to this, and she immediately ordered Zhang Zhidong to return to Beijing to question him face to face.
Zhang Zhidong, who has been an official for many years, knows that someone has framed him in front of Cixi and wants to take the opportunity to hinder his reforms, in order to get Cixi to fully support his reforms, Zhang Zhidong decided to do what he likes, and he deliberately found a friend to spend a lot of money to buy a jade wand from an Indian businessman.
The so-called descending wand is from Indian Buddhism, the initial role is a weapon, specially used for war, a bit similar to the appearance of the three-edged knife, this shape of the weapon if you wound the enemy on the battlefield, there is no way to suture the wound, so the power is relatively large.
Later, it was incorporated by Buddhism as a dharma protector, so the Buddhist image of the Buddha's head was added to its handle, with three different images, one laughing, one angry, and one angry. In Buddhism, this magic instrument is also specially used to exorcise demons and remove troubles, hence the name "descending magic wand".
When Zhang Zhidong came to the capital, the first thing he did was to give this jade wand to Cixi, which made Cixi overjoyed, and for a while he forgot all about what others had sued Zhang Zhidong, and praised his contribution to the imperial court in person. Later, although some people slandered Zhang Zhidong in front of Cixi, Cixi always sided with Zhang Zhidong.
Moreover, since receiving the wand, Cixi has loved it so much that she can't leave it for a moment. Then, many people will definitely be curious, what magic power is this descending magic wand, which can make Cixi, who has read countless treasures, so fascinated?
It is said that it is because Cixi has had many experiences of seizing power in her life, not only killing many people, but also violating the ancestral precepts, so before she died, she bluntly said: "After that, women cannot predict the state politics", which is enough to show that Cixi's heart has actually been afraid and uneasy.
Later, after she ordered the killing of the six gentlemen of Wu Shu, she was often restless and could not sleep at night, always worried that these ghosts would ask for her life in their dreams.
However, since having this emerald wand, Cixi's sleep quality every night is much better, basically sleeping until she wakes up naturally, and her mood has become exceptionally good, and Cixi believes that this is all the credit of the wand.
After that, every night when she went to sleep, Cixi held it in her hand and did not leave her body for a moment. Therefore, this jade wand was enshrined as the most precious treasure by Cixi, and even after burial, it was brought into the mausoleum in accordance with her last wishes.
However, within a few years of Cixi's death, the warlord Sun Dianying blew up her mausoleum, wiping away many of the treasures in her tomb, many of which were unknown. And this emerald wand could not be found later, which is quite regrettable.